Fluffy and Stripes ran around the house chasing Speedy. Speedy was much faster at running than they were, but they never gave up trying.

The two cats slept in a basket in front of the fireplace, where they could go to sleep feeling warm. The mouse slept in his mouse hole, not far away, but out of harms way.

One night, after Mr. Puddlenog had gone to bed, Speedy snuck out of the mouse hole. He saw Fluffy and Stripes curled up in their baskets, snoring away peacefully. Speedy ran into the kitchen and climbed up onto the table. He nibbled at the cheese that Mr. Puddlenog had left sitting on out. “Silly Mr. Puddlenog. He left his cheese out and now I'm going to eat it all.”

When he finished he saw that he'd made a big mess. “Hmm. I think I'll get those cats into trouble.” Speedy took the cheese crumbs and left a trail of them going from the table to the fireplace. He had to be very careful when he got near the sleeping cats, but after he'd left a pile near both of their baskets, he giggled and ran back to the mouse hole.

In the morning, when Mr. Puddlenog woke up, he went into the kitchen to have a cup of tea. He saw all of his cheese was missing. “Who did this?” He looked around and saw the pile of crumbs. Following it, he headed straight for the cats. “Bad cats!” He picked the two sleeping cats up by their necks and tossed them outside. “You'll not get away with eating my cheese, you greedy cats.” He slammed the door, leaving the two of them shivering in the cold.

“What is he talking about? Fluffy, did you eat his cheese last night while I was sleeping?” Stripes pointed at the other cat.

“No. I didn't eat it. You must have. The trail led right to your basket,” Stripes said.

They ran over to the window and peeked inside. Speedy sat on the ledge laughing at them and holding a piece of cheese.

“That mouse did it! Why, I'm going to eat him when I get my paws on him!” Fluffy held up a fist.

It started to rain. The cats had nowhere to go. They stood on the porch dripping water. Speedy sat down and watched them. They looked pathetic. He jumped off the ledge and ran to the front door and pulled it open enough for them to come inside. Both cats ran to their baskets and warmed up. “Thanks, Speedy, for letting us in. From now on though, if you raid Mr. Puddlenog's cheese, don't leave the crumbs near us.”

Speedy winked at them and ran back to his mouse hole.